Safety plug for guns



April 23, 1968 R..VALBURG SAFETY PLUG FOR GUNS Filed Oct. 18. 1966 Fig./

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0 w@ RAW 8 United States Patent O 3,378,943 SAFETY PLUG FOR GUNS Raymond Valburg, 797 Schroeder Lane, Grants Pass, Greg. 97526 Filed Oct. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 587,560 6 Claims. (Cl. 42-1) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The safety device herein shown and described is characterized, generally speaking, by a self-contained extensible and retractable plug expressly constructed to be initially inserted and lodged in the receiver chamber of a gun and subsequently dislodged 'and withdrawn from a chamber through a port aligned with said cham'ber. It embodies an outer sleeve provided with outstanding means which assist in positioning and anchoring the plug in a given chamber. blocking state. Second means is carried by an inner sleeve and serves to slide the inner sleeve against the spring-loaded outer sleeve.

This invention relates to safety devices for guns and has to do with a novel self-contained device herein designated as a safety plug and which is expressly designed and adapted `for practical and reliable placement and use in an existing chamber in the barrel-equipped receiver of rides and Shotguns.

Briefly, the above named safety device comprises an extensi-ble and retractable suitably shaped plug which can be retracted and thus shortened in length and lodged in the guns chamber by lining it up with and inserting it through a side wall port or slot. Once it is properly installed it is impossible to fire the gun. Also, and as will be hereinafter clear, it is likewise impossible to insert and locate lthe plug if the gun is already loaded. On the other hand, there can be shells in the magazine but none in the barrel. To the ends desired, the improved safety plug is positively held and locked in the acti-on and lends itself to feasible and adequate use while the gunner or other user is in the field hunting.

Hunters, gunners and others who are conversant with firearms, particularly rifles, Shotguns and accessories are aware that there are many and various accident preventing safety devices (some built in and others bodily attachable and detachable) which are (l) now in use or (2) are available for use. One prior art adaptation, not particularly pertinent here, but indicative of the state of the art is the safety plug shown in the patent to Novak 2,403,452.

As further and more exemplary of the art to which the invention relates attention is invited to the chamber plugging and safety device for firearms disclosed in a patent to Robbins, 2,997,802. This patent discloses a tiring chamber anda breech opening, a safety device which is such in construction as to visually indicate when the firearm is in a safely disarmed condition and wherein the device is cooperable wit-h the breech portion of a yfiring chamber and an .associated retractable bolt. Compared with the herein disclosed -device it will be seen that while it also involves the use of a safety plug, the plug proper is not located or lodged within the confines of the chamber when the plug is in use. Further, and unlike my invention, it is provided with a bracket having a hook which assists in holding one end of the plug in the port or opening leading to the chamber. More importantly, the plug by itself is characterized by inner and outer sleeves with the inner sleeve spring-loaded and functioning as a plunger whereby to thus provide the desired retractable and extensible plug and which is capable of adjustment lengthwise so 3,378,943 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 that it can be retracted and passed through the port or opening when put in position and subsequently retracted and withdrawn from the chamber by way of the stated opening.

More specifically, novelty is predicated on an outer cylindrical sleeve which is capped and closed at an outer end and open at the other end. This sleeve provides a jacket or shell-like cylinder t-o accommodate the springloaded inner sleeve, the latter being slidable through the open end and telescoping into the receptacle portion of the outer sleeve. The outer end of the inner sleeve is also -capped and closed.

More particularly, a hook-equipped bracket is provided on the outer sleeve to assist in anchoring one end of the plug and the inner sleeve is provide-d with a companion iingergrip to assist the user in sliding the inner sleeve or plunger against the tension of the spring and thus adapting the over-all length of the plug for passage through the slot in the side wall of the aforementioned receiver.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top pian view showing a fragmentary portion of the stock at the left, the barrel at the right an-d the intervening receiver and also showing, in phantom lines, the safety plug lodged in its safeguarding position in the chamber (not detailed).

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the gun appearing in FIG. l and showing a significant portion of the plug as it is seen through the side slot or port in the receiver.

FIG. 3 is a View in perspective of the safety plug and scale.

FIG. 4 is a section on the section line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

PIG. 5 is an enlarged det-ail section take on the plane of the line 5 5 of FIG. 4.

As before and broadly comprehended the invention has to do with a readily insertable and removable safety plug, that is, one which is capable of being inserted into the chamber by way of a side slot or port or removed in a reverse manner.

The gun shown in FIGS. l and 2 is exemplary of either a rifle or a shotgun and embodies a stock A which is equipped adjacent the breech end of the receiver B with a pistol grip C. The reference character D designates the barrel and E the shiftably mounted forearm. The aforementioned chamber is within the interior of the receiver and access is had thereto by way of a side wall slot or port F (FIG. 2).

lnasmuch as the present invention is adapted for acceptable and capable use with varying types of rifles and Shotguns the customary structural internal parts of the gun shown are not detailed.

The insertable and removable safety plug is denoted as a unit by the numeral 8. It comprises an elongated cylindrical or equivalent outer sleeve 10 whose right hand end is closed by a plugged-in cap 12 which may be of plastic or other suitable material. Both sleeves may also be made ofplastic but are generally made of a suitable sturdy but lightweight metal. The righthand end of the outer sleeve is open as at 14 to slidingly receive the inner cylindrical sleeve 16. The sleeve 16 is of appropriate length and it is open at its inner end as at 18 and is provided interiorly with an appropriate tensioned coil spring 20 which serves to transform the inner sleeve into a spring-loaded plunger. The left hand end of the plunger or inner sleeve is provided with a plugged-in closing cap 22. The inner sleeve is provided with a rigidly attached right angularly disposed pin 24 which provides a fingergrip and which is slidable in a slot 26 provided therefor in the outer sleeve 10 and which has a projecting free end portion 28 which facilitates moving the spring-loaded plunger relative to the outer casing or sleeve 10. The outer sleeve is exteriorly equipped, adjacent its closed or capped end, with a simple U-shaped or equivalent bracket 30 whose bight portion 32 is welded or otherwise secured on the peripheral surface of the outer sleeve. One end portion 34 of the bracket provides a fixed fingergrip. The other end portion has its component parts 36 and 38 fashioned into an attaching and anchoring hook with the bill portion 38 projecting beyond the cap 12 and spaced in parallelism from the surface of the outer sleeve in the manner detailed, particularly in FIG. 4.

It will be obvious that when the plug 8 is in place as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1 and appearing in elevation in FIG. 2 it is of a length greater than the length of the port or slot F. The cross-section or diameter of the plug 8 of the over-all device is less than the width of the slot F so that it can be inserted and removed manually and without difficulty. Obviously by compressing the spring 20 and retracting the same by exerting pressure Von the movable finger piece 28 and moving it toward the stationary finger piece 34 the desired retracting and plunger action is attainable. This manner of use serves to shorten the over-all plug and to permit it to be passed through the slot and then lodged in its safeguarding position in the chamber in the manner shown. The reverse is true when it is desired to remove the device and in this connection it will be noted that the anchoring hook made up of components 36 and 38 is detached from the right hand end of the slot F and the plug 8 is sufficiently shortened that it can be withdrawn through the slot.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination, a gun stock, a barrel-equipped receiver oriented and operatively connected with said stock and embodying a chamber having a communicating side port, a safety device located in said chamber and capable of insertion into and retention in said chamber through said side port and capable of removal from said chamber through and by Way of said port when it is not needed for safeguarding use, said safety device comprising a manually insertable and removable port blocking plug which is longitudinally extensible and retractable, said plug being of a normally distended length greater than the length of said port and also being adapted to be retracted and shortened to assume a lengthwise dimension less than the length of said port when it is being initially inserted and lodged in said chamber and subsequently dislodged and withdrawn from said chamber through said port, said plug comprising an outer sleeve which is capped and closed at an outer end and wholly open at the other end thus defining a shell-like jacket, an inner spring-loaded sleeve complemental to and slidable through said open end and telescoping slidably within the confines of said outer sleeve and capped and closed -at an outer end opposite the closed end of said outer sleeve and thus providing a spring-biased plunger, first means on said outer sleeve to assist in positioning an `anchoring said outer sleeve in a given chamber blocking state, and second means carried by said inner sleeve for manually sliding said inner sleeve at will.

2. The combination defined in and according to claim 1 and wherein said port is a horizontally elongated ejection slot, said plug being circular in cross-section from end to end and the cross-sectional dimension of the overall plug being slightly less than the width dimension of said port.

3. For accident preventing use in the chamber of the receiver of a rifle or shotgun wherein a side wall of said receiver is provided with an elongated communicable outwardly opening port: a bodily insertable and removable chamber-blocking port-closing safety device that can be aligned with and passed through the port and lodged in a safety position in said chamber in a manner to fully span and close said port, said safety device comprising a manually insertable and removable blocking-type plug which is longitudinally extensible and retractable, said plug being of a normally distended length greater than the length of said port and also being adapted to be momentarily retracted and thus shortened to assume a lengthwise dimension less than the length of said port when it is being (l) initially inserted and loaded in said chamber and (2) subsequently dislodged and bodily withdrawn from said chamber through said port, said plug comprising an outer cylindrical sleeve which is capped and closed at one outer end and wholly open at the other end thus defining a shell-like jacket, an inner spring-loaded sleeve complemental to and slidable through said open end and telescoping slidably within the confines of said outer sleeve and capped and closed at an outer end opposite the closed end of said outer sleeve and thus providing a spring-biased plunger, first means on said outer sleeve to assist in positioning `and anchoring the same in a given chamber blocking state, and second means carried by said inner sleeve for sliding the latter at Will.

4. The safety plug according to claim 3, and wherein said first means comprises a bracket afiixed to a peripheral surface of said outer sleeve adjacent the closed end,

said bracket embodying a plug attaching and anchoring hook, and said second means comprising a finger-gripping pin carried by said inner sleeve and passing through and slidable in a slot in said outer sleeve.

5. A self-contained safety device capable of being manually inserted into a gun receiver chamber through a side ejection port comprising, an expansible and contractible plug which may be initially inserted and lodged in said chamber and subsequently dislodged and withdrawn from said chamber through said port, said plug embodying an outer cylindrical sleeve which is closed at a forward end and wholly open at its rearward end, an inner cylindrical sleeve complemental to and slidable through said open end and telescoping slidingly into said outer sleeve and open at its forward end and closed at its rearward end, a coil spring confined within said sleeves and having its respective ends exerting end thrust pressure against and spring-biasing and forcing said sleeves in a direction away from each other, first means on said outer sleeve to assist in positioning and anchoring said outer sleeve in a given chamber blocking state, and second means carried by said inner sleeve for manually sliding said inner sleeve at will.

6. The self-contained safety device defined in and according to claim 5 and wherein said first means comprises a bracket fixedly mounted on a peripheral surface at one end of said outer sleeve, said bracket embodying an outwardly extending attaching and anchoring hook, and said second means comprising a finger-gripping pin carried by said inner sleeve and disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said inner sleeve and passing throuhg and beyond and slidable in a slot provided in said outer sleeve.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

